Divergent democracy: Notes on a mediatised affective activism renewal of feminist and anti-fascist struggle in contemporary Greece

Abstract

While the shackles of austerity continue to shatter the remnants of once dignified, and now, mostly dehumanising lives, for most Greeks who have suffered decades long of economic and social crises, the rapid rise of the far right and its incipient racist and xenophobic discourse has had a profound impact on the country. This paper attempts a twofold objective: on the one hand to contribute to the global feminist dialogue by making visible and vocal the case of Greece, and, on the other to advance a plea for a current consciousness raising era in Greece as regards particularly contemporary youth who can transform instances of despair into action and social change by adopting feminist principles in their everyday lives. I draw on the representational politics of far-right fascist discourse and individual behaviour articulated and depicted in contemporary Greek films, and its gendered and xenophobic normalisers, to contextualise an interdisciplinary feminist analysis of such phenomena in contemporary Greece.